SOUTH SIDE (KDKA) – Police are investigating after a man was stabbed during a fight with a blind man on the South Side.

Police believe the man who was stabbed initiated the altercation by punching the blind man.

According to police, the incident happened around 8:45 p.m. near the intersection of East Carson and South 20th Streets.

Clyde Elliot Sr., 39, was at Southside Steaks, when he abruptly walked out, leaving his two kids in the restaurant.

A witness said Elliot ran down the street yelling, “Don’t you ever come to my mom’s house again.” He then proceeded to punch 47-year-old Demetrius Winters in the head, which knocked him to the ground.

Winters told police he never heard anything being said to him before being hit. He said he pulled out the knife to protect himself.

“I noticed that he was getting into a verbal altercation with another man,” Southside Steaks employee Melissa Marino said. “I [saw] that the gentleman that stabbed our customer had a knife behind his back.”

Marino, who is a Navy veteran with prior military medical training, jumped in to help Elliot when he came back into the restaurant.

“I just knew to get the kids to safety, because they kept trying to go out and to get the police there. And then, when the customer came in, I knew exactly how to prevent him from going into shock,” Marino said.

Winters said he’s been blind for nine years following an attack in Mount Oliver.

Elliot was stabbed several times in the face and chest, but was last listed in stable condition.

The two men are believed to know each other and the incident stemmed from an argument earlier in the day.

Police have charged Winters with aggravated assault for the stabbing. They also charged Elliot with simple assault for initiating the altercation.